November 6, 2025 UPDATE

The latest news from RRI

Newsroom, 06.11.2025, 20:00

NATO – President Nicusor Dan and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, participated in the NATO Defense Industry Forum in Bucharest on Thursday. The two dignitaries sent firm messages regarding the need to increase the Alliance’s defense capability, in the current political context, and also to expand production in the military field. President Nicusor Dan believes that rearmament is a necessity in the current context in which peace and security are no longer guaranteed. President Dan emphasized that the Romanian defense industry has a strong tradition, even if it has been neglected in recent years and could contribute to the increase in defense industrial production in Europe. In turn, NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, conveyed to the defense industry representatives that he understands the risks they assume and mentioned the long-term contracts signed by the governments. He specified that there is political will, as well as funding from the authorities. “Open dialogue between NATO and industry is essential” Mark Rutte added. The Bucharest forum brought together about 900 participants from 26 NATO member and partner states, as well as over 300 companies from the defense industry.

Defense – The Romanian foreign minister, Oana Ţoiu, reiterated, on Thursday, Romania’s firm commitment to accelerating the process of consolidating the national defense industry, in accordance with the decision made at the NATO Summit in The Hague to reach 5% of the GDP for defense spending by 2035. The minister participated in one of the Forum sessions, during which participants advocated for increased investments, in line with the defense commitments assumed at the political level by Allies within NATO. In this context, Oana Ţoiu appreciated NATO’s efforts and role in the last year, as well as NATO-EU cooperation in terms of revitalizing investments in the defense industry. Also on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Forum, the Defense Minister Ionuţ Moşteanu had a meeting with Radmila Shekerinska, Deputy Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance. The agenda of talks focused on topics of major importance, with an emphasis on strengthening the allied deterrence and defense posture on NATO’s Eastern Flank, the security situation near Romania’s borders and the defense industry.

Citizenship – The British journalist and film producer Charlie Ottley has obtained Romanian citizenship and took his oath of allegiance to Romania on Thursday in a solemn ceremony hosted by the National Authority for Citizenship. A statement from this institution notes that citizens from the United States of America, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, Jordan, Lebanon, Serbia and India also took the oath on Thursday, which confirms Romania’s global vocation and the strength of its human and diplomatic ties. The National Authority for Citizenship recalls that Charlie Ottley has made a remarkable contribution to promoting Romanian tourism, culture and natural heritage worldwide. Through his exceptional documentaries Wild Carpathia and Flavours of Romania, he has captured the spirit, authenticity and picturesque beauty of Romania.

Cathedral – The period of prayer at the altar of the new National Cathedral in Bucharest, whose painting was consecrated on 26^th October, ended on Wednesday at midnight. For 11 days, some 315,000 pilgrims from Romania and abroad visited the Orthodox cathedral. The Romanian Patriarchate said the place is still open for visitors until November 14^th between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., before closing again for further interior works. It will reopen on 30^th November for the celebration of the Feast of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Romania and of the National Cathedral, and of the National Day on 1^st December, and will also stay open for visitors on 2^nd December. Between 3^rd and 23^rd December, the cathedral will close again before reopening for visitors between 24^th December and 8^th January, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Allocation – The Romanian government approved on Thursday the allocation of approximately 319 million lei (63 million Euros) from the budget reserve fund to finance child protection services, centers for people with disabilities and the current expenses of nursing homes. The requests came from 40 county councils. Also on Thursday, the government created the legal framework for the faster extraction of certain bears from within localities. These are animals with aggressive behavior, which no longer obtain food from the wild, enter localities and commit attacks on people and their property. The teams in the field will be able to intervene immediately, using a method appropriate to the situation, i.e. chasing, tranquilizing, relocating or, if the situation requires it, even shooting or euthanizing.

Energy – Romania supports the Vertical Energy Corridor as a sustainable pillar of European energy security, and the immediate priority is to strengthen the main natural gas transport route from Greece to Romania, through Bulgaria, the basic component of the Corridor. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, who is participating in Athens in the P-TEC Forum – Partnership for Transatlantic Economic Cooperation, an event dedicated to strengthening economic cooperation between Europe and the United States. According to him, on the first day of the Forum, discussions focused on strategic investments, energy transition and new fiscal policies needed to support sustainable economic growth in a global context. In Athens, Alexandru Nazare met with US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Jarrod Agen, executive director of the US Energy Dominance Council. (LS)